Audrey Gruss, Founder and Chair of Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF), and Louisa Benton, Executive Director, will host the second annual Palm Beach HOPE Luncheon Seminar at The Colony Hotel in the Coral Ballroom on January 22, 2026. This year, HDRF celebrates a milestone 20 years of being on the forefront of neuroscience research into depression. The luncheon will discuss the state of mental health in the U.S. today and HDRF’s latest breakthroughs in the discovery of new treatments for depression and anxiety.
This year’s seminar is focused on “Stress and the Brain: The Link between Stress and Depression,” and will address science-backed tools to protect brain health and well-being. This topic, which was featured at HDRF’s 19th Annual HOPE Luncheon Seminar held in New York City in November, is both relevant and timely. Since the pandemic, a sense of unpredictability has become a permanent feature of modern life. The stress of these times seems to be pushing many into malaise, and research shows that stress and depression are strongly linked. What can we do to avoid feeling overwhelmed and helpless? What can the latest science tell us about our nervous systems and coping with uncertainty? This seminar will touch on important insights that can bring hope to you and your loved ones.
The Luncheon will feature highlights from the HOPE Luncheon Seminar in New York City, which honored award-winning singer and actor Audra McDonald with the 2025 Hope Award for Mental Health Advocacy. Gruss will share video from the Award ceremony and give a brief background on HDRF’s twenty years of leadership in the field of depression research. Executive Director Louisa Benton will share breakthrough discoveries of the HDRF Depression Task Force of neuroscientists, in particular, how stress creates risk pathways for depression in the brain and how to prevent it. Her remarks will feature video from top researchers, including Dr. James Murrough, Director of the Depression and Anxiety Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Dr. Huda Akil, Professor of Neurosciences in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School.
The Luncheon serves as a key event in the countdown to the Eighth Annual Palm Beach Race of Hope to Defeat Depression, a 5K Run & Walk that will take place on Saturday, February 14 at 8 Am at Bradley Park in Palm Beach. The Race is a major happening in South Florida that attracts over 1,000 participants to raise awareness funds for cutting-edge mental health research.
The Second Annual Palm Beach HOPE Luncheon Seminar is underwritten by Yafa Signed Jewels, who will host a champagne reception at the Yafa Signed Jewels store on 234 Worth Avenue.
For information or to register for the 2026 Eighth Annual Palm Beach Race of Hope, visit: https://palmbeach.raceofhopeseries.com/
Palm Beach Race of Hope Committee
Race of Hope Co-Grand Marshals: Audrey Gruss and Scott Snyder
Diamond Committee Level: Marvin H. Davidson Foundation, Laura & Brent Nicklas, and Teresa and James Remez
Platinum Committee Level: Perri & Bob Bishop, Gita & Mark Costa, Philippe & Deborah Dauman, Christina & Brian Flaherty, Charles & Kaaren Hale, Simone & David Levinson, Nicola & Jeffrey Marcus, Henry & Laura McNamara, Jane & Carl Panattoni, Alina de Almeida & John Paulson, Thomas C. Quick, Allison & Richard Roeder and Lynne Wheat
Gold Committee Level: CeCe & Lee Black, Wendy & Howard Cox, The Honorable David Fischer & Jennifer Fischer, Frances Fisher, Cindy & Chris Galvin, Jillian Gilmour, Ann F. Jeffery, Melanie & Roger Lawson
Ambassador & Mrs. John L. Loeb, Jr., Muffy Miller, Carole Moran, Joe G. Pacetti
Pamela & Edward Pantzer, Sallie B. Phillips, Kara Ross, and Frances G. Scaife
Silver Committee Level: Robin Baker Leacock, Geoffrey N. Bradfield, Susie and Vere Gaynor, Hilary Geary Ross, Barbara and Alan Glatt, Darcy Gould, Ms. Pamela Gross & Mr. James Finkelstein, J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Foundation, Eleanora Kennedy, Stephanie Loeffler, Meg McCartney, Lucia Nielsen Musso, Richard & Jane Novick, Sarah Salter Levy & Steven D. Levy, Diane & David Sammons, Nancy B. Schaffel, Betsy & Wally Turner and Richard Ziegelasch
Palm Beach Race of Hope Junior Committee
Honorary Chair: Callie Baker Holt, Nick Mele
Chairs: Grace and Tally Walker
Vice Chairs: Bettina Anderson, Chloe Pearl Glaser, Callie Baker Holt, Katherine Lande & Kevin Condon, Bryan Ludwig, Hollis Bradley Pica, Grant Sory, and Sarah Wetenhall.
Committee: Carolina Buia Barefoot, Zoe Cacioppo, Chris Coffee, Stacey & David-William Coffin, Samantha Curry, Linsey Walters Desich, Erin Donnelley, CeCe Glatt, Mary Goode, Krista & Matthew Gorelik, Clementine Goutal, Jennifer Gowdy & Patrick Noone, Maggi Haigh, Alexander Hamer, Henry Hays, Francesca Jabbour, Kimberlee Knecht, Jennifer Lourie, Taylor Materio, Matthew McVay, Nick & Molly Mele, Matt Oleszczuk, PJ Quick Pollack & Kristina Titova, Whitney Lovell Schott, Jared Seligman, Kirsten Smith, Natalie Smith, Alanna Sutherland and Eric Viner.
Palm Beach Race of Hope Sponsors
Coastal Gardens, Grant Sory Real Estate, Gunster, Hamilton Jewelers, Kinder in the Keys Treatment Center,
Le Bilboquet, Lilly Pulitzer, Livingston Builders, Love Binetti, Marble of the World, Marissa Collections, Michelle Farmer Collaborate, NovaLuna, NuView Health, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Pure Skin Palm Beach, Robert and Perri Bishop Foundation, Rubinson Glaser Family, Smith & Elkin, and The Breakers.
About Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF)
HDRF was founded in 2006 by philanthropist Audrey Gruss in memory of her mother Hope, who struggled with clinical depression. The mission of the HDRF is to spur the most innovative brain research into the origins, medical diagnosis, new treatments, and prevention of depression and its related mood disorders – bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, and suicide. The World Health Organization has declared depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, and yet conventional medications today are outdated and do not fully work for 50% of patients. HDRF is working tirelessly to improve the mental health landscape for every American. The Foundation has provided more than $80 million for breakthrough depression research that promises to transform the way depression is viewed, diagnosed, treated and prevented. In 2012, HDRF created the Depression Task Force, an international collaboration of top neuroscientists from different universities who are compiling data and expertise to accelerate research. HDRF has two clinical trials underway for potential novel antidepressants at Mount Sinai Medical Center and Max Planck Institute in Germany. Other clinical trials for novel therapies are in the pipeline at Columbia University and Weill Cornell.
